One goal, one assist! Marco Rossi shines on the top line against the Chicago Black­hawks

Minnesota Head Coach Dean Evason rewarded Rossi for his strong performances in the pre-season games so far, deploying the centre on the top line alongside the two superstars Mats Zuccarello and Kirill Kaprizov at the Xcel Energy Center in Saint Paul.

The 21-year-old repaid the faith shown in him with the opening goal to make it 1:0 for the Wild in the eleventh minute. Following an error by Chicago forward Buddy Robinson, Zuccarello reacted quickest and set up Rossi perfectly, with the latter firing the puck into the net from close range to make it 1:0. Just 13 seconds later, Frederick Gaudreau made it 2:0 in the first period.

Rossi now has eight points

After Jack Johnson pulled one back for the Blackhawks in the 35th minute, Mats Zuccarello restored the hosts' two-goal lead shortly afterwards following a superb combination. Defenceman Calen Addison fired a sharp pass to Marco Rossi, who played tic-tac-toe with Kirill Kaprizov and Mats Zuccarrello. The Norwegian finished off the extremely fast attack to make it 3:1. Sam Steel increased Minnesota Wild's lead to 4:1 in the final period.

Marco Rossi played a total of 17:18 minutes and now has eight points in the pre-season (two goals, six assists). The Vorarlberg native was delighted with the combination play alongside Kaprizov and Zuccarello: "That was great, they are incredible players, it was a great honour for me!"

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